Authorities under the gun to process backlog of firearm licenses

When Brandon Collier went to the Worcester police station Feb. 12 to begin the process of getting his license to carry a firearm, he was surprised to hear that it would take at least 12 weeks.

"I want to get one before you can't get one anymore," the Worcester resident said. "I think the president is really pushing to restrict and reduce the rights of gun owners."

Situations like Collier's are commonplace these days, with the wait for a license to carry doubling, according to local police chiefs.

Ashby Police Chief Edward Drew said his department has seen delays in the processing of applications, due in large part to a backlog at the state level to approve the licenses.

Ashby Officer Derek Pepple handles all applications that come into the department, and he recently posted on the department's Facebook page that it is currently taking between 60 and 70 days for processing.

"We're doing the best we can, and he's doing an excellent job relicensing people and securing all new licenses," Drew said. "It's most likely attributable to people who may think there may be a change in the gun laws. People are saying they've always wanted to get one and they're going to do it now before laws change."

Ashby issued 96 licenses in fiscal 2012, which ended June 30, and already 104 licenses have been issued this fiscal year -- including 22 on Feb. 22 alone, Drew said.

"We have four months left in this fiscal year.

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If the trend keeps at this pace, there will be a pretty dramatic increase," Drew said.

Lunenburg Police Chief Jim Marino said his department also saw a dramatic increase in the number of permits issued. In calendar 2012, the department issued 242 permits, up 78 from 2011. Since the beginning of this year, 50 permits have already been issued.

As the demands for permits increases, gun dealers have seen their inventories dwindle.

"No question it's out of control. I think it starts when you have a president who gets elected who is anti-gun, and then there are incidents like in Connecticut," said Bill Lynch, owner of Blue Northern Trading Co. in Ayer.

Lynch has about a quarter of the inventory on his shelves that he normally has, and he's not sure when he'll be able to get enough back in stock.

"Right now it hasn't affected things in my business too much, but it will begin to very shortly," Lynch said. "When the shelves are bare, you're out of business. There's no evil thing in place. It's very simple. The demand is high and the supply is what it is."

He said companies that supply gun shops with ammunition aren't large companies, and it may not be feasible for them to increase production.

"They're not going to go buy a new facility and buy all of the equipment and hire new people," he said. "This will blow over in a matter of months. Whether it's two months or six months or 12 months, I can't tell you."

Lynch said his experience has shown that people are afraid they will not have access to guns or ammunition if new legislation makes getting them more difficult.

"You may be a casual shooter and just want to go to a range Saturday afternoon and you go to pick up ammunition," he said. "You go to a couple places, and they don't have any, so when you find a place that does, you stock up."

Lynch said it's not just a fear of stricter gun controls that's driving the demand -- shootings like Newtown also spur people to protect themselves.

New gun regulations aren't the answer, he said.

"You can come up with a thousand gun regulations and it wouldn't have changed Newtown. Law-abiding citizens aren't the ones breaking the law," he said. "The nut job in Newtown doesn't care about the laws. I don't know why people with relative common sense don't see that."

Collier said the delay in processing applications should not deter people from applying for their license to carry.

"I think anyone who is legally and mentally capable of carrying a firearm should. They should get their LTC and carry a gun for their own safety," he said.

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